Free Summer 2011 Concerts: River to River Festival

The River to River Festival in lower Manhattan has become a favorite for its diverse lineup of musicians and variety of venues. Although it's been around for only a decade (compared to a quarter-century for SummerStage), the series offers a good mix of up-and-coming artists, established names, and quirky performers in outdoor locations ranging from Battery Park and South Street Seaport to Castle Clinton and the World Financial Center among many others.

You'll find the complete 2011 River to River music lineup here, but below are some of the interesting highlights:

The Bottom Line Presents New York on My Mind
June 22, Rockefeller Park - 7 p.m.
A celebration of the much-loved departed Greenwich Village club, with performances by a stellar line-up of NYC-area artists including Rosanne Cash, Marshall Crenshaw, Garland Jeffreys, Willie Nile, and Dar Williams, among others.

The Ghost Of a Saber-Toothed Tiger
June 24, South Street Seaport - 7 p.m.
Musical and romantic partners Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl bring their new electric band to New York, following up on the success of their first album, "Acoustic Sessions."

Lower Dens/Dirty Beaches
July 1, South Street Seaport - 7 p.m.
Baltimore’s Lower Dens feature the vocals of singer-songwriter Jana Hunter, who has played with bands including Jracula, Castanets, and Matty & Mossy.

My Brightest Diamond with yMusic
July 7, Castle Clinton - 7 p.m.
Opera-trained Shara Worden, who has worked with musicians including David Byrne and The Decemberists, plays River to River with her band and with the musicians known as yMusic.

The Holmes Brothers
July 5, City Winery - 5:30 p.m.
These old-timers can still kick up a powerful set of blues and R&B music, and you can see them live in this indoor River to River show.

All in Good Time: A Celebration for Jonathan Schwartz; hosted by and starring John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey
July 13, Rockefeller Park - 7 p.m.
Pizzarelli and other singers and musicians pay tribute to Jonathan Schwartz, the longtime WNYC deejay and promoter of the American popular song.

Patti Smith and Her Band
July 14, Castle Clinton - 7 p.m.
The punk-poet legend, who has long performed New Year's Eve shows in NYC, takes the stage in prime time with her band, which puts on a powerful show.

The Radio Dept. with Asobi Seksu
July 15, South Street Seaport - 7 p.m.
Swedish band The Radio Dept. takes the stage on a bill with dream pop group Asobi Seksu, which came out with "Fluorescence" earlier this year.

Other River to River concerts include '80s indie pop group The Wake (July 8), Laurie Anderson and Bill Laswell (June 30), and the "Sound Bites" series (various dates), which features bands including My Teenage Stride, The Hairs, Pow Wow!, and Hospitality.

More Summer Music Festivals: Mountain Jam, Clearwater Revival

Pete Seeger, Josh Ritter, and the Indigo Girls are just a few of the performers at this year's Clearwater festival.

A couple more summer music festivals in the New York vicinity are coming up in the next couple weeks: the seventh annual Mountain Jam in the Catskills and the latest in the long-running Clearwater Hudson River Revival in Croton-on-Hudson.

I've never been to the Mountain Jam (June 2nd to 5th), but if you like jam-band music and beautiful mountain scenery, this is the place to be. Musicians including Gov't Mule, the Warren Haynes Band, My Morning Jacket, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Dawes, Nicole Atkins, Soulive, and more will perform at the site of the Hunter Mountain ski area in Hunter, New York. (See the complete Mountain Jam schedule here.)

Friday night headliners are Bela Fleck and the Original Flecktones and the Warren Haynes Band. On Saturday night Gov't Mule and Michael Franti and Spearhead are the headliners, and on Sunday My Morning Jacket anchors the night and wraps up the festival.

Attendance at Mountain Jame is limited to 15,000 people, with camping limited to less than 5,000.

The Clearwater festival (officially Clearwater's Great Hudson River Revival) takes place June 18th and 19th in Croton Point Park in Croton-on-Hudson. As always it combines music with environmental awareness and activism, with vendors and exhibits promoting everything from solar power to organic food (and the power for all stages is said to come from sustainable sources).

Saturday's performers include:
Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Billy Bragg, Dar Williams, David Bromberg, Janis Ian, Josh Ritter, and the Felice Brothers, among many others.

Sunday's lineup features:
Pete Seeger, Buskin & Batteau, Chris Smither, Drive-By Truckers, Indigo Girls, Jen Chapin, Joel Plaskett, John Sebastian, Jorma Kaukonen, Justin Townes Earle, Sara Hickman, and more.

Tonight in NYC: Diane Birch, Rachael Yamagata, Tift Merritt, Marshall Crenshaw, Nicole Atkins, & More in Japan Benefit

Last week I wrote about a series of benefit concerts to aid the Japan relief effort, and recently found out that City Winery is hosting one at 8 p.m. tonight called Bridge to Japan with a lot of great talent on it. I know it's short notice, but if you'll be in the City tonight you'll see an impressive roster of talent (many of whom aren't as famous as they should be):

Rachael Yamagata, Tift Merritt, Diane Birch, Marshall Crenshaw, Dar Williams, Lucy Wainwright Roche, Nicole Atkins, Ben Sollee, classic pianist Taka Kigawa, the New York based big band Morning Musuko, Syd Straw, "12-year-old phenom Cecilia Gault," and more, including Jesse Smith (daughter of Patti, with Lenny Kaye and Tony Shanahan of the Patti Smith band).

As of 4 p.m. today, tickets for Bridge to Japan are still available at several price levels, starting at $25 for standing room (limited number available). Check the website or call 212-608-0555 ext 714 for information. All proceeds will go to Japan relief, the website says.

This is quite a lineup of talent, and I'd guess it's one of those chances to see different combinations of musicians playing together, probably playing tunes you wouldn't normally hear. It should be a great show.

Dar Williams Out On Tour with New Album - Hear Interview and Full Concert

Singer-songwriter Dar Williams recently came out with her latest album, Promised Land, and is touring in support of it. You can hear a radio interview she did that aired on public radio Sunday, Sept. 28th at the link below.

Williams talks about the things she writes about on her new album, the musicians and producers she's worked with, and how she fits songwriting into her busy life as a wife and mother... something that's a change from when she first started out as a carefree singer in her early 20s. "I know that I need to take the time to structure my life to create the empty spaces, so every story really has its due," said noted.

I've been a fan of Dar Williams since her first album, The Honesty Room, and have enjoyed seeing her in concert a number of times. She always puts on a good live show, and has a friendly and funny manner in talking to her audience. Some people may find it too cloying or cutesy, but it's one aspect of her style that has endeared her to her many fans over the years.

At the NPR Music link, you can hear the interview as well as songs from the new Dar Williams album and a complete Dar Williams concert.

Pete Seeger Profiled on PBS

Pete Seeger was the subject of an "American Masters" special on PBS, which aired tonight on New York's Channel 13. I missed it, but the TV listings show it will be aired again on March 6th, I think. (Learn more about the program and when to see it here.)

Pete Seeger has been a powerful force not only in folk and popular music but in the movement for social justice, human rights, and conservation. Despite advancing age, he is still known to attend the annual Clearwater Hudson River Revival. You can find out a lot more about Pete Seeger at the Pete Seeger Appreciation Page.

Rolling Stone did a recent article on Pete Seeger in which he comments on everything from the PBS special to Barack Obama and the current political scene.

Although Seeger became well known in the 1960s protest movement and even before, what's always been impressive to me is that he has reached not just fans but musicians from that time to the present, from Woody Guthrie to Bob Dylan to today's folk, pop, and country artists. His influence is seen, heard, felt, and acknowledged by musicians ranging from the Dixie Chicks to Dar Williams to Billy Bragg.

I hope to catch this Pete Seeger "American Masters" program the next time it's broadcast.